President lays wreath at Athens Polytechnic, calls for restraint for the ‘common good’
Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou laid a wreath on Tuesday morning at the Athens Polytechnic memorial to the November 17, 1973 student uprising against the military dictatorship.
In a brief statement to the press during the low-key ceremony that was attended only by a handful of officials due to health concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic, Sakellaropoulou hailed the deadly uprising as an “ultimate act of resistance” and a “symbol of political freedom and self-determination.”
The events at Athens Polytechnic in 1973, “teach us that democracy demands virtue and sacrifices,” she said. “It also reminds us that young people are the most vital cell of our society.”
The Greek president added that with freedom, democracy also brings responsibility. She went on to urge members of the public to transcend their “individualism for the common good,” in an apparent call for restraint from groups planning to flout a government ban on public gatherings on Tuesday with rallies and the customary march to the US Embassy.
